STRETCH RUN UNDERWAY FOR RAMS
April 21, 2006

ODESSA, TX:  With two conference series left to play, the Texas Wesleyan Baseball team (23-19, 5-5 RRAC) sat in fourth place in the Red River Athletic Conference North Division.  With only the top three teams in the division advancing to the conference tournament, the Rams desperately needed a win today against UT-Permian Basin (15-23-1, 6-7) who entered the contest with a half game lead on the Rams in the standings.  The Rams came through in a big way by taking a 12-2 win over the Falcons.

If the Rams were to take two more games from the Falcons in tomorrow’s doubleheader and have a strong performance next weekend against Paul Quinn, they could move as high as second.  As it stands now, the Rams lead UTPB by just a half game.

A Travis Clifford triple in the first inning got the Rams on the board.  In the third, the Rams scored four runs on four hits to take a 5-0 lead.  UTPB got a run in the bottom of the frame to close the gap to 5-1.

The wheels began to fall off for the Falcons in the top of the fifth, when three hits and three UTPB errors brought the score to 9-1.  The Rams pounded out four more hits in the sixth including an RBI double from Josh Vander Hey, and an RBI single from Chris Palmer and benefited from another Falcon error to put the game thoroughly out of reach at 12-1.

Clifford and Vander Hey led the Rams 16-hit attack by going 3-3 and 3-4 respectively. 

Shea Harrison scattered seven hits over six innings while striking out eight Falcons.  The southpaw allowed just two runs while improving to 5-3 on the season.

August Lewis suffered the loss for UTPB after allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits in four innings pitched.